Towards the end of January, French luxury behemoth LVMH released its annual report for 2024. The group’s revenue reached 84.7 billion EUR (87.77 billion USD), a 2% year-on-year (YoY) drop in the report but 1% in organic growth, which is higher than expected. Q4 2024 saw a 1% increase in revenue to 23.9 billion EUR (24.76 billion USD). However, the year saw the operating profit and net profit drop 14% and 17% YoY, respectively.
Category-wise, the fashion and leather goods department and jewellery and watches group both saw a 3% YoY decrease while the wine and liquor brands saw a large drop of 11% YoY. Beauty and fragrance, however, saw a 2% increase, while the selective retailing division, which includes DFS and Sephora grew 2%.
Region-wise, the United States is growing again with a 3% increase in organic income in Q4, and 2% for 2024. The European market also saw 3% growth while Japan jumped 28%. Asia-Pacific, excluding Japan did not do well, with organic income dropping 10% and 11% for Q4 and the whole year, respectively.
Jean-Jacques Guiony, the CEO of Moët Hennessy but LVMH’s CFO for most of last year, described the LVMH fashion and leather goods division as “stable” in China during 2024. The first half was positive, and H2 saw a slight decrease that improved in Q4. Meanwhile, founder, president, and CEO Bernard Arnault notes that the Chinese government has already announced some plans to help with economic growth. Most importantly, LVMH products are still popular in China.
Arnault, feeling optimistic about a return to normal within two years after the impact of the pandemic and a property crisis, was reported late last year to be investing in China through the luxury group’s private equity branch. These signs show that China remains an important market for the group, both in term of products and investment.
